Dodge preliminary evaluation PE10012
Sticking Accelerator Pedal. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the accelerator pedal on 2 model years (2007). Opened Apr 29, 2010, closed Aug 26, 2010 after 4 months. It led to safety recall 10V234000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn their Defect Information Report (DIR) of June 3, 2010, Chrysler Group, LLC (Chrysler) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall of approximately 25,265 model year 2007 Dodge Caliber vehicles and 71 model year 2007 Jeep Compass vehicles manufactured from March 7, 2006 through May 19, 2006. The recall will remedy a defect in the accelerator pedal assembly (accelerator pedal) of the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system that can cause the accelerator pedal to stick in an open position and not return to the idle position when released. As stated in the opening resume, the subject vehicles (Caliber) are equipped with an ETC accelerator pedal manufactured by the CTS Corporation, the same supplier of the ETC accelerator pedal used in the recently recalled Toyota vehicles. The ETC accelerator pedal used in Caliber and Compass vehicles is not the same as those used in the recalled Toyota vehicles. They are of a different design, were manufactured using different tooling, and fail in a different manner. According to Chrysler and CTS, oversized bearing pockets in the ETC accelerator pedal housing of the Caliber and Compass vehicles allows the accelerator pedal pivot shaft bearings to dislodge from the housing. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal can stick in an open position (i.e., fails to return to the closed position) or be slow to return. Chrysler's DIR notes that the subject vehicles are equipped with Smart Brake Technology and contends that the impact of a binding or sticking accelerator pedal can be negated by its Smart Brake system. In Chrysler's view, the system enables the brake pedal input to override the throttle control system and safely depower the vehicle and minimizes the potential for safety consequences resulting from the defect in the accelerator pedal. Further, Chrysler states, as a result of the presence of this technology, Chrysler Group LLC has concluded that the condition described in this report does not present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. ODI does not concur with Chrysler's position that the Smart Brake technology employed in the subject vehicles eliminates unreasonable risks to safety stemming from the ETC accelerator pedal defect. Aside from the fact that the technology is applicable only to situations where the brake pedal is activated, the Smart Brake system implemented in the subject vehicles will override a stuck throttle under a discrete set of conditions. Because driver behaviors (e.g., kicking at the accelerator pedal to dislodge it, or pumping the brake pedal instead of steady application) may delay or prevent activation of the Smart Brake system in the subject vehicles, ODI believes that this Smart Brake system does not totally eliminate unreasonable risks to safety posed by this defect or the necessity of a safety recall in this case. See Safety Recall file 10V-234 for recall details.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2007 Dodge Caliber; 2007 Dodge Caliber AWD.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE10012 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 10V234000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE10012 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 26, 2010 and led to recall 10V234000.
Which vehicles does PE10012 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2007 Dodge Caliber, 2007 Dodge Caliber AWD. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.